Creed 3: Tessa Thompson Says She Had “More Freedom to Improvise” in Threequel

Later this year, Michael B. Jordan will once again play Adonis Creed, but this time the actor is pulling double duty. Creed III will mark Jordan’s first feature film as a director after following in the footsteps of Ryan Coogler (Creed) and Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II). The movie will also see the return of  Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad. Currently, Thompson is promoting Thor: Love and Thunder, and recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the Marvel movie as well as the upcoming Creed III. During the chat, the actor revealed she had more room to improvise with Jordan at the helm. 

“In the past, it’s been a lot of work to make sure that she has agency and an arc in the context of these sports films, essentially,” Thompson explained. “I wanted to make sure that she’s not just moving the plot forward, and that she actually has something interesting to do. And I typically do that work with the writers … but this time around, I could do that work more actively with Mike. I also had a lot more freedom to improvise on the day than the past ones.”

One person who will not be returning for Creed III is Rocky star, Sylvester Stallone. 

“I think that Sly let it be known that he wasn’t coming back for this one but I think, you know, his essence and his spirit… there’s always going to be a little bit of Rocky within Adonis,” Jordan previously told IGN. “But this is a Creed franchise, and we really want to build this story and this world around him moving forward. So, it’s always respect and always a shit-ton of love for what he’s built, but we really want to push and navigate Adonis forward and the family that he created.” Jordan added, “So hopefully you guys will love what I’m thinking… what we’re cooking up. I think it’s going to be something special.”

“I think it was one of those things where I just felt comfortable,” Jordan previously said on The Late Show about his directorial debut. “I knew it was going to be a risk. I’m super excited to get behind the camera… But from two projects, the first two movies, finally having an opinion and a story that I wanted to tell, execute the vision that I saw in my head. From the second one to the third one I called Ryan [Coogler] up and he’s like, ‘You’re ready for it.’” 

Creed III is set to be released in theatres on November 23rd.